ACC Nets Project and Facilities Development

Aim: We hope to raise funds to refurbish our practice nets and make big improvements to the club pavilion and site.

Who are we?

Since 1865, Andover CC has been at the heart of Andover Town and the local community. We are a family club with a huge junior section and 6 adult sides and provide year round cricket activities to over 400 children each year. The club prides itself by operating in line with its values of providing fun, safe and affordable cricket to the whole community. We facilitate cricket for all genders and abilities.

Why are we crowdfunding?

The Club relies heavily on the tireless work of a small group of volunteers and a small number of annual donations from local companies, in order to survive year after year. To ensure that our cricket offer is financially accessible, the club works hard to keep costs for members as low as we can.

However, this means that club struggles to generate the funds needed for larger scale site development and maintenance. Over the last 20 years our facilities have been used extensively and some repairs and development are required. 

How we’ll spend the money raised

This project aims to raise the cash needed to relay and improve our net facilities. This is a large project which will benefit the youth and senior sections alike by improving the training facilities at the club. We have receive quotes around £18,000 for this work.

As well as new nets, we are also hoping to raise funds for the following:

• Supporting the return to cricket of our second ground with an astro-turf pitch being laid before the season - £300
• Improvements to our pavilion to provide disability access and facilities - £1900
• Repairs to the changing room roof - £3,800
• Re-decoration of the umpires’ room and improvements to toilet facilities - £500
• Enhanced outdoor seating and hospitality areas for players, supporters and families - £500

Community impact

Since the COVID pandemic, the club has worked hard to improve and develop its offer to the whole community. We have expanded our offer to women and girls and in partnership with Hampshire Cricket Board, we have become a hub for disability cricket. 

This project will help us expand our reach and our offer by bringing our site and a facilities and site up to speed with the club's recent evolution. 

Our building does not have disability access, or suitable toileting facilities. Our practice nets facility is worn out after many years of busy training sessions and as a result cricket balls no longer bounce predictably in the nets, making it hard for batters to hit the ball - particularly for beginners to the game. 

This project will allow a large number of existing members to play and enjoy cricket in a safe environment and help us attract new members form the local community to the beautiful game. 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!